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They inflicted damage by hurling projectiles at high velocities, which imparted kinetic energy and force to the target upon impact. Damage was thus a result of the mass of the projectile and its velocity.

A mass driver projectile in space.

The velocity the projectile could achieve is limited by the method by which it is initially propelled. For a chemical explosion (how a conventional slugthrower works), the peak velocity was ~1.8 km/s. For a plasma driven round from an electrothermal cannon (an electrical arc vaporizes the propellant into a plasma to create the requisite pressure to propel the slug), the peak was ~2.5 km/s. For a gauss/coil gun (where the mass is accelerated by passing through sequenced electromagnetic fields) the limit was ~2 km/s due to the rate at which the fields can be created and collapse. These speeds are extremely small in comparison to light speed.

For a rail gun (where the slug is accelerated by Lorentz forces and electromagnetism between two parallel rails) there was no real limit (except the speed of light), only a practical one based on rail erosion and, when in atmosphere, ablation of the projectile. Typically this speed was 6 km/s.

Mass drivers were used to launch missile weapons carried internally, projectiles, and explosive shells. They could be found on a variety of craft from the missile launchers on the LAAT/i,[3] the siege weapons on the Dreadnought battle tank, the flak guns on most capital ships,[4] or serving as artillery on the AT-AP or the SPHA-M.[5]